Chapter 72 - Power-Up? (1)

I ended the call with Si-on and let out a quiet sigh.

"Haah...."

Hiding things, testing the waters, gathering information, and thinking it all through was exhausting.

"...What did I ever do? All I want is a stable, comfortable life."

The moment I said it, memories of slaughter unfolded in my mind.

'Gyaaah~!'

...Well, I had done quite a lot.

Setting aside a few accidental deaths, the rest were killed by my own will, so it was hard to make excuses.

No, but most of those times the other side picked the fight first, so it did feel a bit unfair....

".........."

Anyway, to summarize the current situation.

Chairman Kim, the ghoul wizard who tried to kill me, was alive and well.

On top of that, he had a collaborator skilled enough to block and evade the Special Operations Division's pursuit.

And that collaborator wasn't alone but part of an entire organization.

...A new enemy, scarce information, and an unexpected development.

That was why what I needed right now was.

".........."

I turned my gaze to the iron-covered grimoire <De Vermis Mysteriis> sitting on the desk.

Wooong?

<De Vermis Mysteriis> vibrated, not understanding what was going on.

I put intensity into my eyes.

'New magic. A power-up!'

Wooong-!?

It might seem out of nowhere, but.

You know how manga characters always pick up a new technique whenever they're in a crisis?

Like a reliable finishing move that can pull more than its own weight when used.

Given how things had been going lately, I figured it was about time I got one too.

I picked up <De Vermis Mysteriis>.

Well, the finishing move thing was a joke, but I did need new magic.

I looked at my other grimoire, <The Lesser Key of Solomon>.

The big one-shot magic I currently used as my finishing move.

[Second Pentacle of Saturn] - A wide-area destructive beam spell capable of distinguishing friend from foe.

And the magic that saved me during this recent ambush. Without it, I'd be dead.

[Sixth Pentacle of Mars] - A spell that blocks fatal injuries.

The Pentacle spells from <The Lesser Key of Solomon> did perform above expectations whenever I used them.

Demon summoning was... dangerous, so I had no particular plans to do it again, but its effects had been equally impressive.

The Solomon name wasn't attached for nothing.

However... the preparation time was long. The cooldown was long too.

Drawing magic circles and reciting incantations all took time.

Also, the Saturn spell could only be used on Saturdays, and the Mars spell had to be cast in advance on Tuesdays.

Since I'd burned through my defensive spell stock getting hit by a car, I'd have to recast it next Tuesday.

My eyes narrowed.

These days, fantasy wizards just kept a permanent mana barrier up at all times, tough as a rock....

They could even wrap their fists in mana and throw power punches.

".........."

...Well, I should be grateful for having even one life-saving shield. It was impressive in its own right.

Anyway, like the Chairman Kim incident, if an enemy attacked on a day that wasn't Saturday, I couldn't use the destructive beam spell.

And since preparation time wasn't always available.

I wished I had one spell I could use casually, anytime, in everyday situations.

I did have Grizzly, who could be summoned at any time.

"Gyaaah?"

I patted the tilting head of the curious Grizzly.

"Gyaaah~."

But I couldn't use Grizzly when I needed to hide the fact that I was the owner of <De Vermis Mysteriis>.

And Grizzly accounted for ninety percent of my damage output.

If I couldn't use Grizzly, I became way too helpless.

I even had to secure a budget-model Grizzly (Si-on) separately just to protect myself.

Anyway, that was why I held <De Vermis Mysteriis> in my hand and said,

"Hand of Glory. Something other than that, do you have any new magic? Something I can use to prepare for various situations?"

Hand of Glory. That thing I'd been salting, it felt like over two weeks had passed.

...In reality, it hadn't even been a week yet.

And then.

<De Vermis Mysteriis> vibrated its iron cover in response to its owner's request, flipping through its list of spells.

Woo, wooong... wooong-!

Shwaraak-!

The book opened, and a certain page was revealed.

'This is-.'

The moment I saw the opened page, my eyes went wide on their own.

...I hadn't expected anything at all.

[Method for Summoning the Earth Elemental Gnome]

Something incredibly fantastical had popped up!

The Four Classical Elements, a common fantasy setting.

Fire, water, wind, earth.

A familiar setting from fantasy, but the origin of the four-element concept was actually the ancient Greek theory of elements.

The theory that the world was made of elements.

A philosopher named Empedocles proposed it, and later Plato and Aristotle organized it into the four-element theory.

Then, during the medieval period.

The occult magic framework that philosopher, wizard, and physician Paracelsus built upon the four-element theory was none other than,

Salamander, Undine, Sylph, Gnome.

The Four Elemental Spirits.

Well, stories about them as mythical creatures had circulated in Europe even before Paracelsus.

But it was true that Paracelsus made them far more famous.

Setting aside outer-god magic, the spells in <De Vermis Mysteriis> were a diverse collection that the grimoire's creator, a street-born Crusader wizard, had learned across Europe and Damascus.

So it wasn't strange for an elemental summoning spell to be in there.

But earth, huh....

I flipped the pages back and forth to read a bit more, but.

There were no other elemental summoning methods. Or was it that the book just wasn't showing me the others?

".........."

No, it wasn't that I disliked it, but... honestly, fire or wind would've been cooler.

Or maybe the water elemental, Undine, with its versatility for use in all sorts of situations.

Earth felt a bit, how do I put it, boring in terms of image?

I'd never seen a protagonist in a fantasy manga or novel who used an earth elemental.

In any case.

Elemental summoning was quite intriguing even aside from learning new magic.

'I might be a little excited....'

This felt like real, proper magic.

Unlike demon summoning, it was much safer too.

And come to think of it, elementals originally belonged to wizards.

Those elemental-mage types stole a piece of the wizard pie with their wordplay about "elemental magic" this and that.

Absolutely shameless people.

Did the elemental summoning circle come from digging in the dirt? Did their ancestors draw it for them?

I was reading the Gnome summoning circle instructions when I blinked.

"Wait, I actually have to dig."

...It was an earth elemental, so I supposed that was only natural?

Beyond that, I also needed to find a summoning location, and there were quite a few things to prepare.

Since it was getting close to bedtime anyway.

I'd tackle it properly after waking up tomorrow, buying the necessary equipment from [Mephisto Market] and getting everything ready.

I closed the book, took a quick shower, then got into bed and rested up for tomorrow.

Closing my eyes with a tired body, I thought.

New magic aside.

I never thought I'd end up thinking like this after getting used to Grizzly, but....

<De Vermis Mysteriis>. <The Lesser Key of Solomon>.

I already had two grimoires anyway.

I wished I could get a health-related grimoire too.

And then....

Somewhere far away, in an unknown location.

A Daoist Temple hidden deep in the mountains, secluded from the secular world.

An old yet solemn Daoist sanctuary.

Inside it, a wooden storage box opened on its own.

Tak-.

A tome that looked like it belonged in a martial arts novel rose up.

It was not a martial arts manual, of course.

It was a grimoire filled with supernatural power.

The grimoire walked along on both edges of its covers, toddling forward.

It left the Daoist Temple, looked up at the night sky, and gazed at the stars.

Baopu....

Sensing the enormous power that had recently stirred, reading the wind.

Swish-

It moved.

The Daoist Temple that had been hiding and safeguarding the grimoire containing the secrets of becoming an immortal, in order to prevent its misuse, was left completely empty.

***

I woke up early in the morning, had a light breakfast, and purchased a camping set and the supplies needed for the elemental summoning from [Mephisto Market] to get everything ready.

The camping set was partly because the Gnome summoning had to be done at night, so I might need to stay on the mountain until then.

I also figured it would come in handy for various things later, so I bought it as an investment.

Now I searched online for a summoning location.

I found a suitable low mountain and headed there.

Just because it was an earth elemental didn't mean it could be summoned on any old patch of dirt; there were conditions.

First, the summoning had to be performed at night, before sunrise.

I sweated my way up the mountain and found a suitable spot.

I discovered a small clearing.

I set up my tent there to pass the time.

Though even on an ownerless mountain, I wondered if setting up a tent was illegal.

"...As if that matters at this point."

I shrugged and finished pitching the tent.

Now I took off my hiking clothes, put on a white coat robe, and prepared for the ritual.

Step one of the earth elemental Gnome summoning method.

Find a patch of bare earth to draw the magic circle in a secluded location.

Then use a knife or whatever tool is available to draw the ritual magic circle and fill the space with magical incense.

I placed magical incense in the brazier I'd brought and lit it.

Fwoosh-.

Now I strapped on a goatskin belt inscribed with protective sigils to ward off evil spirits that might interfere with the ritual, and waited for the sun to set.

I'd bought and prepared the belt from [Mephisto Market] that morning.

"Hmm...."

I sat in a camping chair, braving the chilly winter wind.

Part of me wanted to cook some ramen since I was camping anyway, but since mixing ramen smell with the magical incense would be a problem, I settled for what was included in the camping set.

I chewed on a chocolate bar as I ate.

"...Why on earth did they include hardtack?"

I passed the time examining the contents of the camping emergency rations and snack box.

Eventually, the sun began to set, and I continued my ritual preparations.

I looked down at the ground where I'd drawn the magic circle. Now I had to dig out this section.

Having to dig through hard, frozen winter ground... Normally it would be incredibly tough, but....

"Grizzly."

"Gyaaah~."

Bababababak-!!

At my call, Grizzly moved both arms rapidly and dug out the earth at incredible speed.

Supposedly, evil spirits would interfere during this digging process, but.

I glanced at the hazy smoke-like masses hovering around the edges of the clearing.

They didn't come any closer than that.

It seemed they were too scared of Grizzly to approach.

The ground was dug to the required depth in no time.

"Adonai, Elohim, El, King of Kings. Grant me your grace."

I recited the incantation before the pit.

"Command your angels and spirits to fulfill my work. Good spirit, appear before me."

I finished reciting and gazed into the dark pit.

"Hmm...."

Just as I felt nothing seemed particularly different and all was quiet.

Grizzly, standing beside me, tilted its head while staring into the pit.

"Gyah?"

Thwoong-.

Eyes appeared from within the dark pit.

As if eyelids of darkness were lifting open.

Dududududu-.

Not one but multiple eyes snapped open all at once, looking up at me and Grizzly.

".........."

I held up a lantern and shone it into the pit.

And then.

I blinked both eyes.

Tiny stature. Squishy cheeks. Fluffy white beards. Red triangular hats.

"...Gnomes?"

How should I put it, miniature dwarves like SD characters were looking up at me.

"Human, Gnome knows! First time seeing a human, Gnome!"

"Long stretchy arms and legs, Gnome~ How fascinating, Gnome!"

No, if those were Gnomes then they certainly were Gnomes, but....

They were somehow quite different from the earth elementals I'd imagined.

I glanced down at the iron-covered grimoire <De Vermis Mysteriis> in my hand.

'Mysteriis? Is this right?'

Woo, wooong....

<De Vermis Mysteriis> trembled awkwardly at the unexpected result.

Just then, one of the Gnomes toddled over.

"Gnome knows Gnomes!"

It said in an excited voice.

"Humans like sparkly shiny rocks, Gnome!"

Extending its soft little palm, it held out a gleaming gold coin.

"Gnome will give you this! Let's play together, Gnome!"

For a moment, my face went blank.

I snapped back to my senses and gripped <De Vermis Mysteriis> tightly.

'Mysteriis, I think this actually is right!'

Woo, woooooong-!!

<De Vermis Mysteriis> also vibrated with joy.

There were many kinds of power in the world.

Physical strength, political power, magical power, you name it.

Wealth, too, was a power-up for a wizard, if one could call it that.